I am a Director of NMBW Architecture Studio in Naarm/ Melbourne, with a strong research-teaching background. I am bilingual (English/ Japanese) and completed my Master degree at Tokyo Institute of Technology, prior to a PhD at the University of Queensland.

NMBW was started in 1997 by Marika Neustupny, Lucinda McLean and Nigel Bertram. We are a versatile practice in terms of project type and scale, with experience in both public and private work, spanning budgets of $30 million to $30 thousand for the right project. NMBW has won multiple awards, and in almost every category offered by the Australian Institute of Architects - including Small, Sustainability, Melbourne and Regional Prizes; Interior, Urban, Educational, Institutional, Residential, and Multi-residential Awards; as well as the Victorian Medal for RMIT New Academic Street in collaboration with Lyons, MvS, HAW and Maddison Architects. We pride ourselves for the in-depth working knowledge we bring to every design, based on varied lived-experience of each director, combined with parallel academic and research explorations by directors and staff.

I have taught for over 20 years in design and design research for RMIT, University of Melbourne and Monash schools of architecture at undergraduate and masters levels. In terms of research, my doctoral thesis was concerned with the design of water infrastructure in dwellings, broadening to an overall interest in the relationship between sustainable practices and everyday life. I am also a specialist in Japanese architecture, particularly regarding the Shinohara School and the turn from vernacular to Modern & Metabolism, and have contributed four entries for the Japanese section of the Bloomsbury Global Encyclopedia of Women in Architecture. I have concurrently been working on several projects around the topic of the spaces of Asian migration in Australia. I am a member of the National Committee for Gender Equity (currently co-chair) and a supporter of Parlour.

I am passionate about the small contributions I have been able to make towards First Nations recognition and empowerment within the current cultural status quo and look forward to a future of genuine respect and learning.